


Afterthoughts

by sarcasticism



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alright everyone I won’t lie this starts a little sad, Canon Continuation, M/M, Weddings, even though I don’t ship Allurance like I still wanted them to be happy at least, im never getting over Allura i miss her
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-21 15:56:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17046563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarcasticism/pseuds/sarcasticism
Summary: A post-season 8 fic where Keith and Lance get together. Inspired bythistumblr post.





	Afterthoughts

**Author's Note:**

> They really did Lance and Allura dirty huh. Come to think of it, Shiro too. It was hard to write his husband because all we know is his name.
> 
> I wanna make something clear: I don't hate Allurance. I actually thought they were really adorable. However, in the show, it was executed poorly (in my opinion). I am definitely the stereotype of an optimistic Klancer so I might be reaching, but I saw far more subtext hinting at that.

Shiro called the Atlas crew into the conference room to inform everyone of what happened to Allura and Honerva. Lance couldn’t even focus on what he and Keith were saying. He’d just lost the woman he loved. The only woman he’d _ever_ loved. As far as Lance was concerned, his only orders were to curl up in his bunk and cry. Hunk reached over and squeezed Lance’s shoulder. Lance gave him a sad smile in return. He just needed time.

When Coran heard the news about Allura, he started crying. Not in the loud, obnoxious way he usually did things, no. He instead blinked and his tears fell silently. Much like Lance, Coran wanted her back but knew that her sacrifice was necessary for everyone’s survival. That knowledge didn’t stop the tears from falling, though. At least Lance had gotten to say goodbye.

“I want everyone to take the rest of the day off. We’ve all been through quite a bit,” said Shiro.

“Tomorrow, we’ll begin helping the rest of the Coalition with rescue efforts on the planets Honerva hit. More instructions at the briefing tomorrow morning,” Keith added.

“Dismissed.”

The rest of the crew stood up and piled out of the room. Keith and Shiro stayed behind to discuss plans for the next meeting.

“I’m going to help the Blades transition from fighters to helpers. We’ll handle search and rescue alongside the Atlas.”

“Sounds good. Make sure you get some rest tonight though. This entire ordeal has been… difficult, to say the least.”

“Yeah, you can say that again. Goodnight, Shiro.”

Shiro nodded and left the room.

“Lance? What are you still doing here?”

In truth, Lance had not moved since the beginning of the briefing. He blinked.

“Is the it over?”

“Yeah. It ended a few minutes ago.”

“I… I didn’t even notice.”

Keith placed a hand on Lance’s shoulder. “You should get some rest. Come on, I’ll walk you to your room.”

“Okay,” Lance said as he stood up.

He sounded so empty. It broke Keith’s heart to see him suffering like this. Normally, they would be joking with each other, but acting normal would be an insult to Allura's sacrifice. So, the two walked in silence until Lance abruptly stopped.

“What’s wrong?”

“This was Allura’s room.”

“Oh.”

“I just, I don’t know how I’m supposed to keep going. Everything we’ve done, becoming Paladins, defeating Zarkon, Lotor, Sendak, even Honerva, it’s all been because _she_ brought us together. And now she’s gone.”

Keith didn’t know what to say. What _could_ he say? Lance was right.

“Do you want to go in?” Keith offered.

Lance nodded silently. Once inside, Lance went straight to the juniberry flower.

“Take it to your room. As a reminder of her.”

“I will,” Lance whispered. “It’s just so hard to keep going now that she’s...”

“Look, Lance, I know how you feel, really. After my dad died… I didn’t want to do anything ever again. But I knew he wouldn’t want me to feel like that, so... I just did what I thought he would want me to do.”

In lieu of a response, Lance turned around and hugged him, burying his head in Keith’s shoulder. As Lance’s body shook with quiet sobs, Keith held him tight.

“Let’s get you to bed,” Keith suggested when Lance’s sobs died down.

Lance let go of him and nodded. Keith grabbed the juniberry pot and followed Lance to his room.

“Alright, well, goodnight, I guess,” Lance said when they reached his door.

“Lance, I don’t think being alone right now is a good idea. I know you don’t wanna talk and that’s fine, but I’m not letting you be by yourself. I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep, alright?”

“If you insist.”

With that, Lance entered his room. Keith took a deep breath before entering as well. Being a leader was as tiring as it was rewarding. Keith walked in and put the juniberry pot on Lance’s bedside table.

Lance was staring into space, so Keith gently guided him toward his bed. Once Lance climbed under the covers, Keith sat on the floor near him so Lance knew someone was there.

“Keith?”

Keith sat up on his knees. “Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

Keith smiled. “Sleep well, Lance.”

And Lance was asleep within five minutes. Keith quietly slipped out of the room, looking back one last time to make sure Lance was really sleeping.

Keith made his way to his own room and slept like a rock.

 

The next morning, Keith and Shiro had breakfast together to go over some notes before the morning briefing. They finished that within five minutes.

“How are you doing, Shiro? I know losing Adam was hard.”

“Yeah…” Shiro trailed off.

“I miss him too.”

“He’d want me to move on. Which is interesting because someone asked me out.”

“What? Who?”

“His name is Curtis. He works up on the bridge with Veronica.”

“What did you say?”

“I told him I needed some time to think.”

“To think about what? Adam?”

“No, just about whether or not this is a good time for me to start dating again.”

“I don’t think there’s a better moment than right now. Everything is finally over. You should say yes!”

Shiro chuckled. “I’ve been leaning towards that as well.”

“You’d better let me know how it goes!”

“I will, but cool it on the excitement. I don’t even know him that well.”

“Yes, and?”

“...That’s all.”

“You two are gonna get married.”

“Um, slow your roll there, buddy. We haven’t even started discussing _your_ romantic life yet!”

Keith snorted. “What romantic life?”

“Are you serious?”

“Shiro, what are you talking about?”

“Lance.”

Keith frowned and tilted his head to the side.

“You know, that Paladin you’re in love with?”

“In love with? Did you hit your head against your robot arm again?”

“Oh, okay, sure. Tell me how you’re not in love with Lance.”

“He, um…” Keith trailed off, trying to figure out examples that proved Shiro wrong. There had to be something.

Keith thought about everything he’d done with Lance since his return. They had watched the sunset together, during which Keith admired how good Lance looked in the pale light. Keith usually stood next to him during everything too. And when he’d seen the Paladins get pulled away from him while they were in Honerva’s mind… watching Lance fall through the floor had been the hardest. His mind had swirled with thoughts of, _you’ll never get to joke with him, hear his laugh, hug him, ever again_. The thoughts about losing the other Paladins had _definitely_ not been that personal.

_Even last night… I would never have stayed with the others until they fell asleep. I’d walk them to their rooms, sure, but never that._

“I think your silence proves my point.”

“Shiro, you’re right! I’m in love with Lance. Oh no, that’s not good. Now that I’ve admitted it I can’t keep repressing it!”

“Calm down, you gay idiot.” Keith rolled his eyes at that. “It’s not so bad. I’m pretty sure he likes you too.”

“What?”

“Okay, let’s go through the list. First and foremost, the bonding moment.”

“Which Lance claims not to remember!”

“Yeah, it’s called being closeted, dude. Next, he talked about your absence every day that you were with the Blades. He chose you during the game show because he thinks you’re ‘the future.’ If he was really thinking about the future, he would have chosen Allura. You and she shared many qualities. He chose you because he thinks you’re _his_ future. At least subconsciously. Do I really need to keep going?”

“Okay, how do you even know all that? You weren’t there for the game show.”

“Pidge and Hunk told me. They really wanted you two to get together. They still do, I’m sure.”

“You’re also leaving out one huge part: Lance is in love with Allura. Allura who we just lost. I’ll never be able to replace her.”

“Keith, people don’t enter new relationships to find replacements for their past partners. Lance knows Allura would want him to move on. So, even if he doesn’t know he likes you, I’m sure he’ll figure it out eventually.”

“This is a lot to take in Shiro.”

“All I’m saying is, don’t give up.”

“Fine.”

“Promise?”

“Ugh. Yes, I promise.”

Shiro held out his pinky finger.

“You are twenty-six years old.”

“You’re never too old for the pinky-premise!”

Keith sighed and pinky-promised.

“You ready to go be a leader now?”

“Yes, now that childish customs are over, I’m ready to be an adult.”

“You know I only made you pinky-promise so you’ll feel even worse if you give up, right?”

“Yup, I know.”

 

One year later, everyone met up at Allura’s shrine on Altea. They’d all had individual video chats with each other, but it had been a long time since they all hung out like this.

“So, Shiro, any news about Curtis?” Keith asked with a smirk.

“Yeah, we’re getting married,” Shiro said, holding out his left hand. Everyone else collectively gasped and leaned over to get a better look at his hand.

“There’s nothing on your ring finger,” Keith remarked.

“I know, it was a mutual decision. I just wanted to mess with you guys.”

Keith groaned, which made everyone else laugh.

“The wedding is next year. I actually wanted to ask all of you to have different parts in the wedding. Pidge, Hunk -”

“Yes!” they both yelled immediately.

“- be our ring bearers?”

“Yeah, duh. Can we make the rings?” Pidge asked.

“I was hoping for that, so yes. Keith, will you be my best man?”

“Yeah, I started working on my toast the day after your first date.”

“Okay, wow. Ignoring that, Coran, will you officiate?”

“Of course! I don’t know Earth customs work, but I’m sure I’ll think of something!”

“Just watch Jake and Amy’s wedding from _Brooklyn Nine-Nine_ ,” Lance suggested. “I’ll send you the video.”

“Lance, I am not kidding when I say that you have the most important job of all.”

Everyone froze, hanging onto Shiro’s every word.

“Will you create the playlist for the reception?”

“Really? That doesn’t sound that important…”

“Um, hello? Music determines the success of the party,” Keith said.

“Curtis and I have choreography for ‘Take On Me’ by a-ha, but aside from that, music’s all you.”

“I can’t believe you two are dancing to a meme song,” Lance said.

“In Shiro’s defense, he listened to it before I told him it was a meme. And after. He just loves that song,” Keith added.

Shiro took a deep breath.

“Oh no, please - ” But Lance was cut off.

“TAAAAKE ON ME!” Shiro sang.

“Take on me,” Keith, Hunk, and Pidge chorused.

It wasn’t long before Lance started singing with the rest of them, much to Coran’s confusion.

After they ate, everyone paired off to catch up with each other, person to person, wandering off to different areas of Allura’s shrine. Keith managed to grab Lance before anyone else could. They stood at the base of her shrine. Lance read the inscription for what felt like the thousandth time before looking up and seeing his reflection in the metal. He started.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s hard not to remember how she left when I have these marks on my face as reminders.”

“How do you feel about them?”

“I feel…” Lance trailed off, then started laughing.

“What? What’s so funny?” Keith asked, wondering if Lance had finally gone insane.

“I just,” Lance gasped through his laughter, “the classic emo, emotionally detached guy asking me about my feelings? The situation itself is comical.”

Seeing Lance smile and laugh like that, Keith couldn’t help but go along with him. It had been a while since he’d seen Lance smile like that. Once the laughter was over, though, Keith felt the need to point something out.

“I’m not emo or emotionally detached anymore, you know…”

“Yeah, I know. And since you’ve moved on, what have you moved on to? What do you want to do in the future?”

“Oh, well, I still need to help the Galra reestablish a proper government - ”

“I asked what you _want_ to do, not what you _need_ to do.”

Keith thought for a moment. “I want to turn the Blades into a universal relief program.”

“Really? That’s awesome!”

“What about you, Lance?”

“My family needs me at home to help look after the farm for a bit. But after that, I’d like to be a teacher. Maybe a history teacher. We lived through so much of it, so I might as well.”

They talked for the rest of the night. Shiro eventually referred to that as their second bonding moment, much to Keith’s chagrin. And though their lives led them in different directions, Keith and Lance always found ways to make time for each other.

 

Afraid he’d pick the wrong outfit for Shiro’s wedding, Keith called Lance and asked him to come on a trip to the mall.

“I’d love to get married, one day,” Lance said as they perused even more tuxedos.

Keith smiled. “I’m sure you will, one day.”

“Yeah, sure, to whom?”

“Lance, you are an incredible person. There are a lot of people in the galaxy who would be really lucky to even _meet_ you. You’re smart, handsome, kind, you’re the whole package!”

Lance stopped breathing. Why did Keith’s words make him feel so jittery?

 _It’s only Keith_ , Lance reminded himself.

“Here,” Lance said, shoving a random tux towards Keith. “Try this one on.”

This distraction thankfully worked. Lance waited outside the fitting rooms for Keith to return and tell him it didn’t fit. After all, Lance had thrown him a completely random suit. Instead, Keith decided to ask for Lance’s opinion on the outfit. He was wearing all white save for a red vest and bow tie. Yet again, Lance was hit with his bisexuality and couldn’t speak for a few moments.

After a few seconds of admiring Keith, Lance exclaimed,

“It looks great! Shiro will love it!”

And Shiro did. He loved it so much that he instructed the other Paladins to wear similar outfits corresponding to the colors of their old armor.

 

One year later, everyone made their way back to Earth. The wedding was in Hokkaido, the same prefecture Shiro grew up in.

The rings Hunk and Pidge made were perfect. They had formed them from palladium and carved the couple’s initials on the inside. Despite their cultural differences, Coran said all the right things during the ceremony. Shiro and Curtis kissed, and then they were married. They walked back down the aisle, inviting everyone to follow them to the reception.

The former Paladins plus Coran all sat at the same table as the newlyweds. It wasn’t exactly a very big wedding. In fact, there were only about a hundred people there. Sitting at the head table still felt like an honor, though.

As soon as everyone was seated, Keith stood up and introduced Shiro and Curtis as they entered the dining area.

“I’m gonna keep my toast short and sweet because it’s been a _long_ journey for Shiro here. Can’t you tell from his white hair? He’s only twenty-eight, believe it or not."

Everyone laughed. Keith noticed that Lance’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“I’m very happy you two found each other. Curtis, don’t let Shiro turn you into an old man. I wish you both long and prosperous lives.” Keith raised his glass. “To Shiro and Curtis.”

“Hear, hear,” everyone chorused.

Keith handed the microphone to Shiro.

“Alright everyone, dig in. The dancing will start in about an hour, but that doesn’t mean you can’t keep eating.”

“I love you, Shiro,” Hunk said, looking at his first course.

They ate, drank, and joked together. Hunk repeatedly caught Pidge trying to drink his wine, telling her she was underage while she drank it anyway. When he brought the issue up with Shiro, all he did was warn Hunk to not let her drink too much.

It felt like no time had passed when Shiro and Curtis began dancing to “Take On Me.” Pidge couldn’t stop giggling at the mere fact that they were dancing to a meme song. Perhaps Hunk hadn’t monitored her alcohol intake as well as he should have.

After they finished, the couple invited everyone else up to dance. Hunk immediately grabbed Keith and Pidge and pulled them onto the dance floor. Hunk waved Lance over as well, but he just shook his head. He wasn’t in a dancing mood. How could he be dancing when all he could think about was how this was the life he could have had with Allura?

Sensing the inner turmoil, Shiro sat down next to Lance.

“How are you doing?” Shiro asked.

“I’m great!” Lance said too quickly for it to be sincere. “What about you? Beautiful day for a wedding, I’m so happy for you.”

Shiro gave him a patient smile and said, “When Adam died, I thought there was no love for me in the world. With the war and all, I never even had time to mourn him. I thought that was it for my love life… but it wasn’t. I just wanted to tell you to not give up on love. That’s what Allura would have wanted.”

Having imparted his wisdom, Shiro returned to his husband.

Lance knew he was right, he just couldn’t imagine anyone else to be with. Well, there was  _one_ person.

“Hey, Lance,” Keith said, taking Shiro’s seat next to him.

_Think of the devil…_

“Hey.”

“Wanna dance? I heard someone say there’s a special prize for the best dancer, and you’re the best one I know.”

Lance didn’t know why, but he suddenly felt like dancing again.

“It’s been a while, but I’m sure we can win if we work together! Come on!”

Lance all but dragged Keith back onto the dance floor right as the fast song ended. It was now slow and romantic. Keith blushed, hoping Lance wouldn’t notice in the dim light.

“Wait, is this ‘The Way You Look Tonight’?”

“Obviously.”

“I can’t believe you put that on the playlist, you dork.”

Lance chuckled. “Of course I did. Now, put your hands on my shoulders. Good. I’m going to put mine around your waist. And now we sway. Not so hard, is it?”

“No, I’ve just… never danced with anyone before.”

“Well, glad we could rectify that. And don’t worry, we’ll be busting way more moves when the next fast song comes on. That’ll win us some points.”

“Thank you. This is way more fun than it looks.”

“How does it look?”

“Boring.”

“Now, that all depends on your partner.”

Keith’s heart leaped against his chest even though he knew Lance was talking about dance partners. Lance was right though, he was enjoying himself because he was with Lance, his best friend, his unrequited love.

“So, you wanna talk about what’s bothering you?” Keith asked.

Lance sighed. “Am I that transparent?"

"If you know what to look for, yeah."

"Okay, but it’s a little depressing and more than a little confusing.”

“Ah, my two emotions,” Keith joked. Lance chuckled. “Go on.”

“I’ve just had some realizations lately. About Allura. I don’t think she ever really felt the same way about me.”

“What? She loved you, she said so in front of all of us.”

“She never loved me the way I loved her. Sure, she may have had _some_ romantic feelings for me, but she was part of something so much bigger. And she knew that. There was no way she had room for a lasting relationship. She knew that too. I was just a fun distraction from her destiny, not a part of it.”

“What are you saying?”

“I feel like she dated me out of necessity. I asked her out and she said yes because she needed it. She needed me to get over Lotor. To distract herself from Honerva. I was the second choice. As usual.”

“You’re not,” Keith whispered.

“What?”

“You’re not the second choice. I can’t speak for Allura, but you were never my second choice.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I know you don’t remember it, but the bonding moment, the moment after we beat Sendak, that’s when I fell in love with you. I know no one can replace Allura, and that’s not what I’m trying to do - ”

“I remember.”

“- I just thought - wait, what?”

“I remember, Keith. How could I forget?”

“Then why did you pretend?”

“I was scared. I didn’t want to admit that I might’ve had feelings for another guy. And when you left to fight with the Blades, I missed you _so_ much. But I couldn’t… You had so much on your plate already and I didn’t want to add anything else.”

“I thought you liked Allura.”

“Yeah, I liked you both. It was easier to like her than to realize I was bisexual. And although Allura will always have a special place in my heart, that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for anyone else ever again.”

“So, does that mean... do you like me?”

Lance nodded.

“Really?”

“How could I not? You’ve always been there for me. You’re a great leader, you’re insanely attractive, you’re smart, a great pilot, and you’re even funny when you try to be.”

Keith’s smile faltered. “I don’t want to replace Allura.”

“You’re not replacing her. No one can replace Allura. No one can replace anyone, that’s not how relationships work. But if you’re really worried about being a second choice, let me just say this: if Allura was still alive, we probably would have broken up by now. Our lives would take us in _very_ different directions. Of course I wish I could bring her back, but the only person I want to date is you. You, Keith.”

Keith kissed him. Lance made a surprised noise but kissed him back anyways, tightening his arms around Keith’s waist and pulling him closer. When they broke apart, the entire room was filled with stunned silence.

That is, until Pidge yelled, “FINALLY!” and everyone started cheering. Keith and Lance couldn’t stop smiling.

Shiro ran to the DJ, wrestled the mic from her, said, “I told you so!” into it, and dropped the mic on the floor.

“Is this man serious?” Lance asked as the rest of the guests doubled over in laughter.

“Yup. He told me so and this is what he gets for being right. Also, it’s his wedding night, so we’ll get back at him tomorrow.”

“Do you want to keep dancing?”

“Sure.”

Almost every single guest congratulated them on finally getting together. Pidge, Hunk, Coran, Krolia and Kolivan, surprisingly, Kinkaide, Zethrid and Ezor (had they even been invited or did all gays somehow know where the other gays were?), Cosmo (though his congratulations involved licking both of their faces), and after that, Lance stopped counting.

“Hey Lance?” Keith said during a break between congratulations.

“Yeah?”

“I’ll never leave you again. U-Unless you want me to, that is.”

Lance pulled him in for a hug. “I’ll always want you by my side.”

They danced until the very last song, and even though they definitely deserved a prize, they never got one. Keith admitted it had been a ruse to get Lance to dance with him a few months later. It was a lie Keith never felt guilty about.

 

It had been two years since Allura’s death. Lance was visiting her statue on Altea again. The juniberry Pidge’s mom had grown was still thriving, so Lance had planted it at the base of her memorial. He didn’t need to carry something to remind himself that Allura was always with him, not anymore.

Lance looked up at her statue, silently asking a question. A warm gust of wind ruffled his hair. He smiled and stood up. Keith was waiting for him a few yards away.

“So…” Keith said when he returned.

“Yes,” Lance breathed.

Keith smiled, hugged him, then kissed him, stopping only to put the ring on Lance’s finger.

**Author's Note:**

> Fuck canon I make the rules now


End file.
